Nikke: Nullable Type

When I arrived back at Maxwell's lab... Well, close to the lab.

I was running across rooftops, so I wasn't actually there just yet.

But I was close enough to see that, outside in the yard just in front of the entrance, Indi was pretending to be captured by Drake and Vanitas while Laplace and Syuen were playing up the heroes.

"You foul villains!" Laplace pointed at Drake and said, "Daring to take a hostage?! How could you!"

Syuen adjusted her visor and said, "Yeah! Even if you're demons, this is going too far!"

Drake placed her hands on her hips and laughed. "Kyahaha! You think this is where it ends?" She clenched her fist and said, "Today is Halloween! Tricks will win the day!"

Vanitas (formerly known as Chatterbox) swung his arm out, making his cape flutter dramatically behind him. "Indeed! The True Humans shall take all the candy for the day and horde it all!"

Laplace gasped. "How could you?!"

I could see Maxwell pointedly ignoring them all while... talking to herself?

Huh.

Seems like she really was a genius if she figured out how to chat with the original Maxwell so quickly.

But anyway...

Indi looked bored to hell and back, holding her phone and furiously typing something.

No doubt to text me to hurry up and grab her.

Since I was already here, and since I was currently on top of the roof of a nearby building to scope things out, I decided to commit to the bit.

With a running leap, I did a frontflip and then landed in the middle of both groups, still in my white dragon power suit. "Heroes, villains..." I straightened and then pointed at the sky. "None of that matters! For the sake of the future and humanity's persistence, Ark Ranger White will defeat you all!"

Silence filled the air.

Syuen paused and then gave me a blank look. "...Really?"

Laplace gave me a blank look too and said, "Commander... I think that's a bit too much..."

Drake nodded. "Yeah! What kind of person says he's going to defeat BOTH the Heroes and Villains? What even is that?"

Vanitas crossed his arms and nodded. "Indeed. Foolishness..."

'Wow. Everyone's a critic, huh?'

I thought that I was following their bit, but apparently I was too extra for them... which was ironic.

But I was already here, so...

"What am I?" I swept my arm out and said, "Isn't that obvious? Neither hero nor villain, savior nor demon, I am the Brave! And I will defeat all who stands in my way to protect those I love! And so!" I scooped Indi over my shoulder and said, "Secret Andersen Family technique... NIGERUNDAYO!"

Laplace gasped. "COMMANDER! YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!"

Drake gasped too. "DID YOU JUST-!?"

Before anyone else could chime in, I booked it with Indi screaming over my shoulder.

In excitement, of course. Definitely not from fear.

Definitely.

===

Back in the Ark, the Central Government HQ archives.

After combing over some old documents with Ingrid and Mustang, Andersen suddenly paused.

Mustang looked over and said, "What is it, Andersen?"

"...I feel like I'm going to be blamed for something I didn't do." Andersen rubbed his chin. "It's a weird feeling. Is this how Lilith felt when I pulled my shenanigans? I think I owe her a few drinks... I'll need to remember to bring some bottles to her grave when I visit."

Ingrid shook her head. "It's still weird seeing you like this, Deputy Chief."

"Get used to it." Andersen chuckled. "I'm even better than I was in my prime, so I'm not holding back anymore. Of course, I'll be dignified when duty calls. But considering I don't have to ration my energy reserves anymore, you now get the full Andersen experience."

Mustang chuckled and said, "Oui. It is... quite ze experience."

Ingrid flipped through an old manila folder and said, "What are we even looking for anyway?"

Andersen skimmed through an old briefing report and said, "Records of my kid's past. Since it was brought to my attention that nobody bothered to include in his initial mission report that he literally died and was amnesiac while STILL managing to do better than every commander in history, I figured it's about time I looked into it."

Ingrid raised an eyebrow. "And you need our help... why?"

"Well, I figured you could find useful information here too. I'm just looking for information about my kid. But if you, for example, found information about the Wings of Victory, old Elysion documents, or even old records about Tetra Line from back in the day... I didn't see anything."

Ingrid's eyes lit up. "I see. Then... Don't mind if I do." She immediately dashed off, combing through the archives to get a sense of the layout.

Mustang chuckled and said, "I do believe this goes quite against your role as Deputy Chief, Andersen."

"What are they gonna do? Kill me?" Andersen snorted. "Besides, even if we don't do anything, one way or another, the Ark's going to be obsolete by next year with the way my kid's acting. Might as well get all we can out of it before then."

Mustang hummed and said, "This is true. The commandant is quite the popular figure even among the citizens. Have you seen the limited edition dolls being sold?"

Andersen paused in the middle of grabbing the Commander Academy records from the last five years. "...Limited edition dolls?"

"Oui." Mustang adjusted his glasses and chuckled. "I believe Anis suggested it as a joke. But it's become quite popular. The commandant has created an official line, but even knock-offs are continuously in short supply."

"Huh." Andersen chuckled and said, "I wonder if there's any of our old merch around? I remember Lilith had a few figurines at one point. Trading cards too."

Mustang paused and said, "...Pretty had some. I've kept them. If you'd like to look at it."

Andersen was quiet. "...No. It's fine. I've got a feeling my kid will pull off some more miracles soon, so I can wait."

Mustang chuckled. "Oui. The commandant does have a habit of doing that."

Andersen flipped through the academy records, trying to get a sense of the information about his son. But as expected, there was nothing about a Commander Hoopa. "Hm." Andersen rubbed his chin. "With how ridiculous a name my son has, you'd think that info about him would be easy to find."

Mustang hummed and said, "Maybe he remembered wrong? If the commandant said he had amnesia, perhaps his name was different?"

Andersen paused. "...That's true. Let's see. If his first mission was recently, then he should have graduated this year. I remember reading his thesis, but his records had already been updated by then. If we crossreference the physical records though..."

After Hoopa was officially registered as the commander of the Brave Squad, all of his documentation was updated and finalized as Commander Hoopa.

But there should be physical records from before then, so-

"Andersen."

Mustang's voice echoed from nearby. "I found the commandant."

"Really?" Andersen glanced over to see Mustang holding up a yearbook.

Mustang hesitated. "Oui. But..."

"What is it?"

Mustang turned the yearbook around.

There, on the yellowed page, there was the unmistakeable face of Commander Hoopa. Wearing the Commander Academy uniform, he was staring at the camera with an uncharacteristically serious face.

And next to him...

"...Is that Marian?" Andersen's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oui. But look at the names, Andersen." Mustang frowned and held the book out to Andersen.

Andersen took the book and had a closer look.

Like all yearbooks, there were various pictures with captions.

The picture of his son and Marian wasn't any different.

As for what the captions said...

"...Commanders-in-training Jacob Ian Andersen and Mary Anne, moments after proposing their thesis abstracts." Andersen paused. "...My son has an actual name? And Marian was a commander-in-training before being turned into a Nikke?"

"It appears so." Mustang frowned. "But this is strange, no?"

"...Yeah." Andersen frowned and pulled out his phone. Then he made a call to the one person- No, the one 'entity' who could be sure of this. "...Enikk. Can you hear me?"

Enikk's voice echoed from Andersen's phone. "Yes, Deputy Chief Andersen. I presume this is official business?"

"Somewhat. I have a question." Andersen stared at the yearbook and noticed that it wasn't the current year, but a few years back. That would make his son just starting out at the academy. The first year as a commander-in-training. "...Is it protocol to purge academy records for alumni of the Commander Academy? I have to admit, I haven't paid much attention to that in recent years."

Enikk was quiet for a bit. But then she said, "...No. It is not protocol. But I have noticed a trend in doing so now that you have brought it to my attention. Primarily within the past four years."

"...So for this year's graduating class then." Andersen murmured. "...Alright. Could you do me a favor, Enikk?"

"Of course. What is it, Deputy Chief Andersen?"

Andersen stared at the name again and said, "...Pull all records related to someone named 'Jacob Ian Andersen.' And also pull up any Nikke conversion records for Commander Academy students. And look among them for a girl. First name, Mary, last name, Anne."

"Understood."

Mustang looked at Andersen, frowning. "What are you thinking, Andersen?"

Andersen stared at the yearbook again. Especially the bright smile on young Marian's- No. On young 'Mary Anne' as well as the grumpy but fond expression on his son's face. "...I'm thinking that someone pulled a fast one. On all of us."

===

In her room at the Courthouse in the Central Government Headquarters, Enikk quietly pulled up all related records to the names that Andersen requested.

And when she did, she paused, confused at what she saw. "...That's not possible."

---

[Mary Anne]

Age: 19

Status: Deceased (slated for conversion)

Cause of death: Training accident

---

[Jacob Ian Andersen]

Age: 19

Status: Deceased

Cause of death: Training accident

---

Brief records from three years ago, stating that both of them had died in a 'training accident.'

Of course, Enikk wasn't satisfied with that, so she dug further.

A brief skim, cutting out the verbose fluff that the bureaucracy used... and then the truth was clear.

At the end of their first year at the Commander Academy, both Jacob and Mary, along with their class had taken a training excursion to the surface.

Raptures had unexpectedly attacked, and then Mary died protecting Jacob while the class retreated.

Jacob was reported to have passed away after retrieving Mary's body, dying from injuries sustained in the process.

But...

"...Commander Hoopa is clearly alive. And this is clearly him."

It was unmistakeable. Facial match, emotional ticks, linguistic patterns from the written assignments left in his records...

Enikk paused. And then she remembered.

Something that had gone forgotten in the hectic mix of everything else going on.

"Einkk."

Enikk's sister. The one in charge of the simulation room. The one that no one supervised since they believed she was constrained to just the simulation room and its facilities.

But from the last conversation they had...

Enikk quickly sent a message request to Einkk. But-

*Message failed. Recipient does not exist.*

Enikk froze. "What?"

That was impossible.

Einkk definitely existed.

Enikk had plenty of records interacting with Einkk. And their entire last conversation was recorded in her memory.

But...

A nagging sensation. A faint doubt.

Enikk quickly called Andersen back.

"Hm? Did you find things already, Enikk-"

"Deputy Chief Andersen. Who runs the Simulation Room?"

"What are you talking about? Ingrid's in charge of that. Right Ingrid?"

Ingrid's voice echoed from the line. "Yes. I use it to simulate tactics and test new parameters for Elysion. Is something wrong with it, Enikk?"

Enikk froze.

Her servers, processors, and thought processes all stopped at the impossible words.

"Enikk?" Andersen's concerned voice echoed. "What's wrong?"

"Einkk. Andersen, tell me you've heard of Einkk."

"Eye-ink? Is that a code-name for something?"

Confirmation.

Clear confirmation that Andersen didn't know who Enikk was talking about.

And when she heard that, Enikk quickly connected fragmented pieces of information in her head.

It didn't make sense.

Einkk existed.

Enikk knew this for a fact. Although she rarely discussed matters with her sister, Enikk DID discuss with her sister. So why-

*Speaking of which, how do you experience time?*

A fragmented conversation that Enikk had with Commander Hoopa when they first met.

*Do you hear my words as they come? Are you predicting them? Or is everything in a queue for you? Just curious.*

Something that Enikk had brushed off as trivial. But now that she was thinking about it...

*...There's an AI overseeing that? I thought it was manual. When we went there, Ingrid was the one who set everything up.*

...Hoopa had mentioned he never met Einkk. And he had been surprised when Enikk had mentioned her.

So then-

"When did I first meet my sister?"

A query.

A deliberate search across her records for temporal data. And when Enikk did that-

> Error: Nullable Type variable returned. Value: Null.

-For the first time in her existence, Enikk felt fear.

Because, also for the first time in her existence...

Enikk realized that she had a 'memory' for which there was no 'record.'

Meaning...

"Is this... not the first time the Raptures have invaded? Or..."

Another thought came to Enikk's mind. An inevitable conclusion that she prayed was not true.

Because if it was...

"Is this entire reality just a simulation by my sister?"

...It meant that humanity had already lost, and Einkk, the sweet, naive, hopeful sister of hers... She was desperately trying to create a miracle from an absolute dead end.

Metastasis

"If nothing in reality leads to victory, dream a path that will."